1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data acquisition system for articles in transit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for recording environmental conditions to which a product is subjected during transport.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Consumer and industrial products are frequently distributed to end users throughout the world. A particular distribution network may include air travel, water travel, and land travel. The various modes of travel may utilize airplanes, cargo ships, trucks, and rail transport. While in the distribution network, products may be subject to a number of environmental conditions including for example, vibration, shock, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, etc. While the products may be conveyed by various types of transport, and subjected to various environmental conditions, it is important that they arrive at an end user's location in good condition.
One method of ensuring delivery in good condition is to package the products appropriately. In some enterprises, a department or some other functional entity may be dedicated to making certain that product packaging functions effectively. In order to do so successfully, information regarding the range of environmental conditions that a product may experience is required. One way to gather this information is to include a general purpose data gathering instrument, also referred to as a data recorder, data saver, or data logger, in the package with a product. The instrument typically gathers environmental data during transport. Upon arrival at a destination, the data may be retrieved and analyzed. Once acquired, the data may be used to enhance not only the packaging design but also the design of the product itself may be improved if desired.
General purpose recording instruments are disadvantageous in that they are usually expensive and as a result may only be used on a sample basis. They may also be bulky, making integration into a particular packaging design difficult, and in some instances requiring modification of the packaging. If an enterprise uses multiple packaging designs, the integration or modification may have to be done for each type of design. In addition, extracting data from the instrument may require special interfaces and software.
It would be advantageous to provide a data acquisition system that is inexpensive and easily integrated into an existing product so that it may be used to track a large sample population, or ideally each individual product as it travels through the distribution network to the end user. It would also be advantageous to provide a data acquisition system that may be used without modifying existing packaging. It would be additionally advantageous to provide a data acquisition system from which data may be easily retrieved in a usable format.